Kallima paralekta
| Kallima paralekta | |
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| Male, upperside | |
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| Female, upperside | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Kallima |
| Species: | K. paralekta |
| Binomial name | |
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Kallima paralekta (Horsfield, [1829]) |
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Kallima paralekta, commonly known as the Indian leafwing or the Malayan leafwing, is a species of brush-footed butterfly of the genus Kallima. Despite its common names, it is not found in India or Malaysia, but is endemic to Java and Sumatra of Indonesia. Like other members of its genus, it is remarkable for its strong resemblance to a dead leaf when its wings are folded. It was one of the species encountered by the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace in his travels in maritime Southeast Asia. It is mentioned in his famous 19th-century work The Malay Archipelago as one of the best examples of protective camouflage achieved through natural selection.
Kallima paralekta is classified under the genus Kallima (oakleafs) of the tribe Kallimini, subfamily Nymphalinae in the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae. It is the type species of the genus Kallima. The species contains two subspecies, Kallima paralekta paralekta and Kallima paralekta tribonia. The male of the species was first described as Paphia paralekta by the American physician and naturalist Thomas Horsfield in 1829. The female was described in 1850 by the entomologist John O. Westwood. The type specimens of both were recovered from Java, Indonesia.
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